Is History the degree for me?

So maybe you've studied history at GCSE and A-Level, are an ancient-savant, and are ready to produce your own documentary on the secret history of Stalin's gardening habits. Or maybe you're like me and didn't realise you wanted to study history until you were knee-deep in a policing degree and had to switch after a year.

Either way, History is a very different experience at degree level in comparison to at any other level.

Big difference #1:

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University work is independent

Yes all education has to be lead by the individual studying to some degree, but at University there is no one telling you what work to do, when to do it, or often even how to do it. Most degrees barely regard your attendance as long as you do the work! So for History this means that you are researching all alone, and when you need lots of references, that also means a lot of reading.

Big difference #2:

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Creativity levels

At A-Level and below, History seems to be all words, and there's a lot thrown at you in order to fit the syllabus. At University you'll find that the history you study is related to your lecturers' specialities, which means it's more focused and you can ask questions and get direct answers since they are experts in those fields. It's also multifaceted, (At Edge Hill, I have studied foods that King Charles IV ate, Georgian clothing, and Victorian toys for example!).

Big difference #3:

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Motivation and topics

Tied to the independence change, this means that you need to be motivated to study for your essays and read well around the subject area/time period. The benefit of independent studying here is that for most of your essays, (at least at Edge Hill), you can write about any area you're interested in, and with any question. For example, I have written about everything from Japanese art in the Meiji period to the diaspora of the Vikings, and everything in between. This freedom to choose what you write about allows you to motivate yourself by choosing topics you find interesting!

Whatever degree you choose, as ridiculously cliché as it sounds, think less about the end result of the job you'd have and make sure you'd find the degree itself fun. If you don't find your degree fun, you will be miserable pouring over essays for 3+ years.

Good luck!

Charlie
3rd Year History student at Edge Hill University.

P.S.
You can find the link to Edge Hill's History page with details of modules you can pick here!

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